


Simplicity.

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: I tried and therefore you cannot criticize me., M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-14
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-05 07:32:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/720466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kíli is injured while hunting, and Fíli comes to find him. Truly, it's simple - well, it's simple to Kíli, but Fíli can find complexities in anything. </p><p>Based off a prompt I was given on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simplicity.

**Author's Note:**

> So the prompt I was given was "You could you do a durincest where one of them (preferably kili) goes off hunting and gets hurt and when he doesnt come back fili goes off looking for him but takes a while to find him so its just an angsty hurt/comfort fluff thingie" 
> 
> SO I TRIED. 
> 
> I DID A THING. 
> 
> IT'S A THING. IT'S ALSO NON-LINEAR SO SORRY IF IT'S CONFUSING.
> 
> FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. 
> 
> ps i'll update fragility soon

It had all started so simply. Kíli had gone hunting on his own a hundred times before, this wasn’t supposed to be any different. He was supposed to be out, clearing his head after the night before, and then he was supposed to return home with a hart, or a couple of rabbits, or even a bloody _squirrel_. Night was approaching dangerously quickly; Kíli should have been home, in front of the fire with a bowl of stew, talking away to Fíli, as if nothing had happened. Kíli’s eyes closed. They ached and burned from wind and tears, and when he opened them once more, they watered against his will.

 _‘You have to be brave,’_ he told himself, _‘You have to be strong,’_ But in this moment, he was neither of these things. He was scared, and powerless; he felt as if he was barely more than a small child, lost and alone, utterly weak. He took a long, deep breath, which shuddered as it spun through his chest. His leg burned still, though the pain had dulled to a fiery throb that sparked up from the source of the wound through his veins. Nearby, a crack sounded, and Kíli sat up, his eyes wide with fear. He looked down at his leg, and the bloody tatters of skin and fabric that covered half of his limb, and panic spread down his spine. He wasn’t alone in these woods, not truly, and the smell of blood inevitably would attract predators which Kíli could not fight off in his injured state.

Another rustle, and Kíli felt his lip tremble. He reached for where his shortsword lay not far off, deciding that he wouldn’t go down without even attempting a fight. 

 

 

The sun hadn’t yet risen over the horizon when Kíli had awoken, a moment of peace settling in his mind, before the shameful realization of what had occurred the night before set in, making the crisp spring morning seem even colder. After a few breaths in self-deprecating silence, Kíli sat up, pulling back the blankets on his bed in one swift motion. He hissed and grimaced as the cold air attacked his bare skin, sending a chill through his entire body. Kíli rose to his feet, and dressed quickly, wanting to leave the house as swiftly as he could. He threw his hair back in a messy ponytail once dressed, and he walked to his bedroom door, trying to be quiet, but eager to be gone.

Kíli was halfway down the stairs of the small but cozy house that his family shared on the outskirts of the town, when he froze, his eyes finding the blonde figure that was hunched over at the kitchen table, a steaming mug of tea sitting untouched in front of him. Slowly, Kíli resumed his descent, with deliberate steps, meeting Fíli’s eyes when he looked up. Judging by the unkempt hair and the bruises under his eyes, Kíli could tell that Fíli had slept even less than he had himself. They watched each other as Kíli crossed the room, before he carefully donned his cloak and picked up his bow and quiver from where he had left them by the door.

“Tell mother and father I’ve gone hunting,” Kíli said, his voice hoarse from sleep and thin from apprehension. “I’ll be back for dinner,” Kíli turned to the door, when Fíli’s voice caught him mid step.

“Promise?” Kíli looked back over his shoulder at Fíli, who was staring at him with wide, pleading eyes.

“Yes,” Kíli said softly, pulling his hood over his head and stepping through the door, before he thought better of it and stayed to keep Fíli (most likely unwanted from Fíli) company. Kíli took a deep breath of the frosty morning air as he shut the door, closing his eyes at the instant sense of wakefulness that the clear breaths brought.

He would be okay. _They_ would be okay. 

 

 

“Oh, by Mahal, Kíli, there you are.” Fíli stumbled forwards through the brush, and Kíli’s sword slipped from his fingers and dropped to the ground at the sight of his brother, relief flooding his body in a tidal wave. “I was so worried about you,” he dropped to his knees in front of Kíli, his eyes already settled on the wounded leg. “What happened, Kíli? Why did you go so far from the pat? We were worried sick, all of us, and your leg, you-“

“Fíli,” Kíli cut in, stopping the tirade of words that tumbled from Fíli’s lips. “I’m fine, alright? I mean- I’m not, but it’s just my leg. If you help me up and support me, I most likely can walk home.” Kíli tried to sound calm, though he was far from it. “I’m okay- Is it bad? Fíli, am I going to lose my leg?”

“I don’t know, Kíli,” Fíli said gravely, pulling away some of the fabric that was saturated still with blood. “It’s bad, but you’re strong, you can pull through.”

“I’m not strong,” Kíli said, his initial terror returning with a vengeance that clawed at his throat. “I’m so scared, Fíli.”

“You cannot be scared right now, you cannot afford to be,” Fíli said insistently, seeming to gain some of the confidence that Kíli was altogether lacking. “We have to get you home, Kíli, where you can rest, and a healer can look at that leg.”

Kíli nodded in response, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. “Fíli, about last night-"

“We’ll talk about that later,” Fíli said, moving to Kíli’s side. He took Kíli’s arm, and hooked it around his shoulders, his own hands coming to Kíli’s waist. “Try to stand on three.”

“But we need to-“

“One, two, three-” They hoisted together, and managed to lift Kíli to his feet, but not without grunting and cursing, especially on Kíli’s part. “You can lean on me, but I cannot carry you all the way back, I’m sorry,” Fíli said, scanning the forest for the best way back to the pain pathway. “And you need to tell me what happened.

“I was chasing a buck,” Kíli explained through gritted teeth, as he and Fíli began to slowly make their way back towards the path, Kíli limping heavily. “And I didn’t see a rock in my way, and I tripped, and-“ Kíli looked down, cheeks flushing at the memory of his own foolishness. “The way I fell, my leg hit the rock again as I fell, and I think I may have broken the bone.”

“Your leg looks as though it was ravaged by a beast,” Fíli said with raised eyebrows.

“I was getting there,” Kíli said sheepishly, “I wasn’t the only one going after the buck. A wolf- it was alone.” Fíli’s eyes went wide, “I didn’t manage to kill it, but I hurt it somewhat, and it ran off. After it took a bit of a bite.”

“Thank Mahal I found you,” Fíli said darkly, shaking his head, before shifting his hold on Kíli. “If you can’t even defend yourself from one lone wolf…”

Normally, Kíli would have tried for some clever retort, but his pride was all but gone. “I know. Thank you.” The softness of his tone made Fíli’s brow furrow as he glanced over at Kíli.

“Is this about last night?” Fíli asked cautiously.

“Is what about last night?” Kíli responded in turn.

“You… admitting defeat.” Fíli answered slowly, averting his gaze to the darkening trees ahead of them. “I thought you would – say something witty in response.”

“Well, you were right,” Kíli said, dodging the initial question. “I would have died if I were left here on my own."

 

 

"You're such an ass!" Kíli said with a laugh, flicking water at Fíli, who flinched away and swatted at Kíli with the drying cloth in retaliation. 

"Shut up and do the dishes, weakling," Fíli retorted with a grin, which earned Kíli sticking out his tongue. "Astounding maturity from you, as ever." 

"I never claimed to be mature," Kíli said dryly, dunking a bowl in the dishwater. "As for the 'weakling' comment, however, we both know that I'm far more agile than you. If I had had a dagger, I would have had it at your throat before you even drew back for the first blow." 

"I think you're missing the part where you _didn't_ have a dagger," Fíli said smugly, drying the bowl when Kíli set it aside. "It's called a surprise attack." 

Kíli smirked in return. "I know a thing or two about surprise attacks." Just as Fíli opened his mouth to respond, Kíli pulled a mug he had submerged from the basin, and dumped the contents on Fíli's head. At the sight of Fíli sputtering and shocked, Kíli's head fell back and he roared with laughter, stumbling back away from the basin. 

"I'm going to murder you, you little shit!" Fíli jumped towards Kíli before the latter had time to react, tackling him to the ground while Kíli let out a yelp. the mug clattering to the ground not far off. "Do you admit defeat?" Fíli had pinned Kíli's wrists to the ground and he sat astride his waist, glowering down at Kíli, who was still breathlessly laughing. 

"Fine, fine, you win," Kíli said with a sigh, but as soon as Fíli lightened his hold, Kíli grabbed onto his arms and rolled them over so that now he sat atop Fíli, holding him down. 

"You cheated," Fíli said, struggling against Kíli's hold. 

"I like to play dirty," Kíli said with a grin, "Well, I like to win." Fíli met his eyes with a set jaw and a consistent gaze. Their eyes locked, and they stayed silent for a long moment, each waiting for the other to submit, until a repressed instinct pushed its way to the surface, and Kíli's hand grabbed the back of Fíli's neck, and he crashed his lips to Fíli's in one reckless movement. 

 

 

"We're nearly there," Fíli said as they reached the edge of the forest. Kíli could barely even limp along side Fíli anymore, he was so drained and exhausted, not to mention faint from hunger and blood loss. His vision was clouded, and, in the darkness, he barely had any perception of _anything._

"I can't, Fíli, I need to stop-" Kíl's words slurred together, his arm slackening around Fíli's shoulders. Kíli thought he heard Fíli say something, but his senses were dulled, and all he seemed aware of was the dull throb in his leg. The world seemed to shift, and Kíli came to enough to realize that Fíli had hoisted Kíli into his arms, and was carrying him with one arm behind his back, and the other under his knees. "Thank you, Fíli, you always save me-" Kíli mumbled senselessly, before the blackness overcame him. 

 

 

"I'm so sorry, Fíli, I-" Kíli's hand came to his mouth as he sprang to his feet, cold fear and shame darting through his form. With each passing second, he once more recalled how Fíli had stiffened beneath him, then raised a hand to Kíli's shoulder, roughly pushing Kíli off of him. "Fíli, I don't know what came over me, I just-" 

"That never happened," Fíli snarled as he, too, got to his feet, his hair still dripping with water from what was meant to be a playful gesture. Hs gaze pierced Kíli until the latter looked down, unsure if he had blanched, or turned crimson. 

"Yes, of course- I mean no, no, it didn't happen, it didn't-" Kíli shook his head furiously until Fíli cut him off. 

"Shut up," Fíli jumped in harshly, "before mother or father hear you." He threw down the dish cloth and it landed next to the mug, which now sported a long crack to the rim. "Finish the dishes on your own." Kíli didn't dare argue. 

 

 

When Kíli came to, the night had departed, and the sun was nearly at the midday mark. Out of reflex, he made to sit up, but inhaled sharply when the pain ducked up his leg, causing him to bite his lip in an effort not to cry out. Kíli pulled the covers up to see the neatly wrapped split and bandages, which were already stained with a spattering of blood. Kíli slowly settled back onto his pillow, his throat tightened as he realized that he couldn't walk, nor run, or do nearly _anything_ independently. He was utterly trapped in a state of dependency, the thought of which made him feel ill - but at least he wouldn't lose the leg. 

The door swung open, and Fíli's head darted in from around the corner. "Oh good, you're awake." Fíli stepped inside and shut the door after himself. "We need to get that leg elevated. And what would you like to eat? Father is just about to make supper." Fíli grabbed a spare pillow as he talked animatedly. He moved to the bed, his eyes on his task at hand, not meeting Kíli's eyes for even the briefest of moments. Kíli flushed slightly when Fíli pulled back the covers, exposing his bruised and beaten nakedness, but Fíli appeared to pay no mind; carefully, he lifted Kíli's leg and placed an overstuffed pillow under it. 

"I- uh- I'm not that hungry," Kíli lied, reaching for the blankets once more. "Did you- my leg- did you?" 

"No, of course not," Fíli said quickly, fussing unnecessarily with the pillow. "A healer came last night, Father fetched him at once, and Mother changed your bandages a few hours ago." 

"You carried me home," Kíli stated blankly as the memory returned. 

"Well, you weren't about to carry yourself," Fíli said with a sigh, finally turning back to face Kíli. "You would have done the same for me."

"I thought you hated me," Kíli said softly, "After what I-" 

"I don't hate you," Fíli took a long breath, ever cautious with his words. The mattress sunk slightly as Fíli sat on the edge of the bed next to Kíli. "I was... surprised, to say the least. And not altogether prepared." 

"And angry," Kíli added quickly. 

"And angry, yes," Fíli admitted, looking out the window for a moment, "But not at you, Kíli." 

"Then at what?" Kíli inquired curiously. 

"At myself," Fíli sighed, looking back at Kíli, "I... I enjoyed it." Kíli met Fíli's stare, and for a long moment, he stayed silent, processing what Fíli had just said. 

"You- enjoyed it." Kíli echoed, disbelieving, "They why would you just-" 

"I was afraid, I suppose." Fíli stood quickly, turning his back to Kíli, his arms crossing over his chest. "Answer me honestly- if I had kissed you, with no apparent provocation, what would you have done?" 

"I don't quite know," Kíli admitted, running a hand through his mess of hair before it got stuck in a tangle, and he gave up. "But I wouldn't have been such an ass about it as to push you away." 

"Kíli, you're my brother-" Kíli groaned loudly, but Fíli continued over top of him, "You can't just- We can't just- It's not- a thing- that can... happen." 

"Your eloquence astounds me, truly breathtaking," Kíli ignored the sharp pain in his leg as he sat up, the covers falling to expose his chest. "To me, it's simple. I kissed you, you enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, ergo, we should kiss more." He shrugged coyly. 

"Everything's simple to you," Fíli scoffed, doing something with his hands that Kíli could see, but he knew was simple fidgeting from years of seeing Fíli nervous. 

"Simple things are," Kíli stated plainly, "We're brothers, yes, I'm well aware of this, but you know as well as I do that we've never let ourselves be confined to a normal sibling relationship. I love you as a brother, yes, I love you as a friend, a protector, a punching bag, and I want to kiss you again, why complicate it?" 

"Because it's _incest_ , Kíli, it's illegal, for one," Fíli turned back sharply, and Kíli regarded him with a raised brow. 

"So it's the legal implications, not to moral ones, that hold you back?" 

"Well, yes. The Line of Durin, family honour - does that mean nothing to you?" 

"Of course it does, it means that we're important and everyone therefore has to kiss our asses," Kíli sighed, "Look, kiss me one more time, and if you have the feeling that I get and have had for years every time you amaze me, every time we even look at each other, every time we have the same ideas, anything we just exist together - the feeling that together, we're something extraordinary, that bloody act on it, or I'll tell Mother about the time you had too much ale and threw up in her boot." 

The playfulness of the threat seemed to lighten the air, and Fíli cautiously returned to the bed, sitting next to Kíli, who brought a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Fíli's ear in a tender, relaxing gesture. Fíli's hand came to rest on Kíli's bare arm. his fingers tracing the lines of muscle that cast shadows upon Kíli's skin. For a long moment, neither dared to move. 

It was Fíli who leaned in this time, pausing as their noses brushed, angling his head to the side ever so slighty as he caught Kíli's lips with his own, warmth spreading through both of their veins on contact. Kíli's hand moved to where it had been two nights previous, holding the back of Fíli's neck, while the other hand supported himself on the bed. After what felt like too short of a time, Fíli drew back, and Kíli's lips felt cold and a little damp, but still the memory of the kiss lingered, a ghost upon his skin.

"Well," Kíli said softly, resting his forehead against Fíli's, "Am I going to have to tell mother about her boots?" 

"Kíli," Fíli said breathlessly, "I hate myself for it, but we could be something extraordinary, couldn't we?" 

Kíli grinned, and nipped at Fíli's lower lip. "I'm always right, aren't I?"


End file.
